The Polyphony Database
polyphonydatabase@gmail.com
About the database❯
PolyphonyDatabase.com is a detailed catalogue of early music sources designed to help musicians perform, academics study, and enthusiasts explore a vast and glorious repertoire quickly and easily. It aims to combine the practicality of CPDL with the academic rigour and ambition of the RISM census, to make use of similar projects where possible, and to directly combat the frustrations performing musicians have with all existing resources.
Its three main goals are:
- To assist performers, directors, and editors by cataloguing the contents of primary sources, source concordances, and basic information about how each piece of music can be performed.
- To provide a reliable starting point for academic research by linking to library catalogues, other existing databases, and facsimile images of early music manuscripts and prints.
- To provide a repository for properly sourced critical editions, performing scores, and recordings of as much of this music as possible, each carefully vetted for typesetting quality and accuracy, and made available for free download, so that this music might be discovered and appreciated by a wider audience.
The database was founded by Francis Bevan in 2014 as an outlet for his editing hobby and is regularly updated by him and a small team of enthusiasts. If you would like to contribute some cataloguing time, recordings or editions, submit corrections, commission an edition or just donate some cash, please get in touch with Francis via email: polyphonydatabase@gmail.com. Read more about the project's history at the 2018 Crowdfunder page.
The best way to help fund the project is to commission performing editions. New editions can be made quickly for as little as £10.
Understanding the clef images
A red clef means the voice is missing from this source. Where there are no concordances to fill in the gaps, this means the piece will require reconstruction.
A green clef means the voice is incomplete in this source. This might denote a fragment of a larger work, or a e.g. canonic voice that isn't written out in full.
A faded clef means much of the piece can be performed without this voice. For example, an extra 6th voice in the Agnus Dei of an otherwise 5vv Mass setting, or a short gimel in a big votive antiphon. Filtering by number of voices will exclude these clefs, while filtering by a specific voice combination will include them.
A blue clef denotes a voice that uses more than one clef in this source - this is particularly prevalent in earlier printed sources. We've estimated the larger clef on the left to be the most used to give an idea of voice distribution at a glance.
An X clef is used as a placeholder for voices we know are necessary, but haven't yet worked out which! This can be because there are no extant sources for a missing voice and no reconstruction has yet been attempted (it will normally become obvious which voice is missing once editing starts), or because we have catalogued a source from an incomplete facsimile that we know to be complete elsewhere.
Title |
Function(s) |
Composer |
# |
Sources |
Ave trinitas sancta
|
BVM |
Burck, Joachim a
1546–1610
|
5 |
|
Ave trinitatis sacrarium
Pothárn Imre
|
BVM |
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
c.1525–1594
|
5 |
|
Ave trinitatis sacrarium
|
BVM |
Casolani, Leonardo
fl.c.1600
|
8 |
|
Ave Ursula serena
|
St Ursula |
Clemens non Papa, Jacobus
c.1510–1555/1556
|
4 |
|
Ave vera caro Christi
|
Corpus Christi |
Anon
|
4 |
|
Ave vera caro Christi - Salve sancta caro Dei
|
Corpus Christi |
Anon
|
4 |
|
Ave verbum incarnatum
|
Corpus Christi |
Anon
|
3 |
|
Ave verbum incarnatum - Ave corpus Jesu Christe
|
Corpus Christi |
Crecquillon, Thomas
c.1505–1557
|
5 |
|
Ave verbum incarnatum - Ave corpus Jesu Christi
|
|
Lupi, Johannes
c.1506–1539
|
6 |
|
Ave vere sanguis Domini
|
Corpus Christi |
Anon
|
4 |
(P-Ln CIC 60)
c.1570
(Choirbook, MS)
#4
|
|
Attrib: Anon |
First page (2vv) missing |
|
Ave verum corpus natum
Francis Bevan (ATBarBarB)
|
Corpus Christi |
Clemens non Papa, Jacobus
c.1510–1555/1556
|
5 |
Liber quintus cantionum ecclesiastica... (RISM 1553/12)
Liber quintus cantionum ecclesiasticarum cantionum quatuor vocum Vulgo Moteta vocant
Antwerp: Susato, Tylman, 1553
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#13
|
|
Attrib: Clemens non papa |
|
Tertius tomus evangeliorum quatuor qu... (RISM 1555/11)
Tertius tomus evangeliorum quatuor quinque sex et plurium vocum continens historias et doctrinam, quae in ecclesia proponi solet: de Trinitate, de Dedicatione Templi, De coena Domini
Nuremberg: Berg, Johann and Neuber, Ulrich, 1555
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#36
|
|
Attrib: Clemens non Papa |
|
|
Ave verum corpus natum
David Fraser (ATTB)
Francis Bevan (SATB)
Pothárn Imre
Stile Antico
|
Corpus Christi |
Byrd, William
c.1540–1623
|
4 |
Gradualia ac cantiones sacrae, quinis... (RISM B5218)
Gradualia ac cantiones sacrae, quinis, quaternis, trinisque vocibus concinnate Lib. Primus authoe Gulielmo Byrde, Organista Regio, Anglo Editio secunda, priore emendatior
London: Redmer, Richard, 1610
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#35
|
|
Attrib: Gulielmo Byrde |
|
|
Ave verum corpus natum
|
Corpus Christi |
Massaino, Tiburtio
before 1550–after 1608
|
5 |
|
Ave verum corpus natum
Francis Bevan (AATTTB)
|
Corpus Christi |
Gabussi, Giulio Cesare
c.1555-1558–1611
|
6 |
|
Ave verum corpus natum
|
Corpus Christi |
Lhéritier, Jean
c.1480–after 1551
|
5 |
|
Ave verum corpus natum
|
Corpus Christi |
Catalano, Ottavio
d.1644
|
5 |
Promptuarii musici sacras harmonias s... (RISM 1612/3)
Promptuarii musici sacras harmonias sive motetas V. VI. VII. & VIII. vocum ... Pars altera
Strasbourg: Kieffer, Carl, 1612
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#58
|
|
Attrib: Octavii Catalani |
|
Sacrarum cantionum quae binis, ternis... (RISM C1520)
Sacrarum cantionum quae binis, ternis, quaternis, quinis, senis, septenis, octonis vocibus concinuntur cum Basso ad organum
Rome: Zannetti, Bartolomeo, 1616
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#25
|
|
Attrib: Octavio Catalano |
|
|
Ave verum corpus natum
|
Corpus Christi |
Brunetti, Domenico
c.1580–1646
|
7 |
|
Ave verum corpus natum
|
Corpus Christi |
Ingegneri, Marco Antonio
c.1535–1592
|
8 |
Liber sacrarum cantionum quae ad sept... (RISM I47)
Liber sacrarum cantionum quae ad septem, octo, novem, decem, duodecim, sexdecim voces choris & coniunctis & separatis commode etiam cum varijs musicis Instrumentis concini possunt
Venice: Gardano, Angelo, 1589
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#13
|
|
Attrib: Marci Antonii Ingignerii |
|
|
Ave verum corpus natum
|
Corpus Christi |
Josquin Desprez
c.1450–1521
|
5 |
Concentus octo, sex, quinque & quatuo... (RISM 1545/2)
Concentus octo, sex, quinque & quatuor vocum, omnium iucundissimi nuspiam antea sic aediti
Augsburg: Ulhart, Philipp and Salminger, Sigmund, 1545
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#10
|
|
Attrib: Iosquin |
|
Cantiones triginta selectissimae. Qui... (RISM 1568/7)
Cantiones triginta selectissimae. Quinque. Sex. Septem: Octo: Dvodecim et plurium vocum, sub quatuor tantum, artificiose Musicis numeris a praesentissimis huius artis artificibus ornatae ac compositae.
Nuremberg: Neuber, Ulrich, 1568
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#26
|
|
Attrib: Iosquin de Preess |
Altera vox in Epidiapente post duo Tempora/tria Tempora/unum Tempus |
|
Ave verum corpus natum
|
Corpus Christi |
Lebel, Firmin
d.1573
|
5 |
|
Ave verum corpus natum
|
Corpus Christi |
Prenner, Georg
d.1590
|
4 |
|
Ave verum corpus natum
|
Corpus Christi |
Victoria, Tomás Luis de
1548–1611
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
c.1525–1594
|
5 |
|
Ave verum corpus natum
|
Corpus Christi |
Appenzeller, Benedictus
c.1480-1488–after 1558
|
5 |
|
Ave verum corpus natum
Pothárn Imre (Down a fourth)
Pothárn Imre
|
Corpus Christi |
Lassus, Orlande de
c.1532–1594
|
6 |
Mottetta, sex vocum, typis nondum usp... (RISM L939)
Mottetta, sex vocum, typis nondum uspiam excusa: singulari authoris industria iampridem composita, et praelo submissa
Munich: Berg, Adam, 1582
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#16
|
|
Attrib: Orlando de Lasso |
|
Tertium opus musicum, continens Lecti... (RISM 1588/8)
Tertium opus musicum, continens Lectiones Hiobet motectas seu cantiones sacras, quatuor, quinque et sex vocum, antea quidem tribus fasciculis seorsim excusas, nunc vero in volumen unum redactas
Nuremberg: Gerlach, Katharina, 1588
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#54
|
|
Attrib: Orlando de Lasso |
|
Magnum opus musicum ... Complectens o... (RISM L1019)
Magnum opus musicum ... Complectens omnes cantiones quas motetas vulgo vocant, tam antea editas quam hactenus nondum publicatas II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. IIX. IX. X. XII. vocum a Ferdinando serenissimi bavariae ducis maximiliani musicorum praefecto, & Rudolpho, eidem Principi ab Organis; Authoris filiis summo studio collectum, & impensis eorundem Typis mandatum
Munich: Heinrich, Nikolaus, 1604
(Partbook, Print)
RISM
#347
|
|
Attrib: Orlandi de Lasso |
|
|
Ave verum corpus natum
|
Corpus Christi |
Josquin Desprez
c.1450–1521
|
3 |
|